Mr Bates' unreserved smile
by Aivlis Malfoy
Summary: Mr Bates' smile is more than a mystery to Anna... it means the world to her.


_Excuse me but E__nglish is not my mother tongue, so I'm sorry for the grammatical mistakes. Reviews welcomed! And hope you like it!_

_And I want to thank NamelessAvenger for the translation! _

**Mr Bates' unreserved smile**

She watched him going away, his gaze fixed on her, his legs swinging over the edge of the hay cart, grasping firmly his wooden cane and completely unaware of the tears that had started to form in her blue eyes.

Anna stopped when Mr Bates' figure disappeared at a bend in the road and couldn't help but regret what she had done.

He was so wonderful – she had never seen him in any other way – understanding, humble… so irresistibly kind. She drew a smile on her face as she remembered that night when she was sick and he knocked the door of the servant's corridor, willing to break the rules just to take her a warm meal.

She could only smile and beg him to leave right before Mrs. Hughes find him there. She loved him already and now, she hoped he would love her back.

Anna resumed her walking while the rest of her group was not to be found anymore. For a moment, the flower show had lost all interest and his words _- wouldn't be right – _echoed in her mind over and over again. She didn't understand and he hadn't tried to explain himself either, so why believe him?

She suspected that there was something else beneath that unreserved smile, that there was some truth hidden in his words but couldn't figure out what terrible thing he, her most cherished confidant, insisted to keep it secret.

Birds' trill surrounded her as she kept walking and the sound of merry voices was getting closer and closer. Anna was reaching her destiny still with no answers to her questions. She was young, maybe too young. Maybe he had a family far from Downton, possibly a wife. He hadn't denied that and, as impossible as it seemed, he had left without showing his usual bravery. He, who was a truly survivor amongst ambitious footmen and envious maids.

She sighed with resignation. At the end of the lane, she could discerned Daisy's figure, right next to the insufferable Thomas. Anna could see William, a few steps behind, looking angrily at him. Just like the blond footman, Anna hated him too. Everyone did, except little Daisy.

Bates and his infinite benevolence came to her mind again. She would have supported him if he had decided to accuse the man, but he wouldn't do such thing. What they did would be enough to teach him, so she was the only one not surprised when the blue snuffbox was back in its place safe and sound.

Everyone get inside the showroom and Anna, again, took her time outside, relishing the scent of hundreds of different kinds of flowers. She closed her eyes enraptured by the exotic fragrances and farther and farther away from the mingled voices of the inside.

- Anna? – She didn't open her eyes but nodded while heard steps were heard behind her.

Who else could be? The one who could look at her that way, wearing a truthful smile minutes after pronouncing such a cryptic words that had left her in the dark. He was the one who knew her better, took care of her when she was sick or know just the right thing to her. If he was perfect for her, why it wasn't right?

- I'm sorry Mr Bates – she dared to look at him – I lingered outside contemplating the landscape –

He smiled widely and, by the way he looked at her, she felt that her love was requited, as it should have always been.

- Shall we? – he asked, offering his arm to her with a look full of meaning.

She took it, with a new-found shyness and a smile in her lips.

They came in saying nothing else. Words weren't needed. She finally realized that everything would remain the same between them. Bates already loved her and he would, but in silence, despite knowing that his feelings were mutual, until his fears and mysteries were left unfounded.

For the first time, they looked at each other no-holds-barred, and smiled while the rest of the audience congratulated Mr Moseley on his perfect roses. Bates, oblivious to his surroundings, put his arm around her shoulder and she felt happy despite her confession earlier and happy because something dawn on her.

She would wait because she had been waiting for him all her life.

**Well, That's it!**

**I'm a great fan of Downton abbey and Bates/Anna are my favourites, so I have to write that, jaja**

**I hope you like it, and you could find the original Spanish version on my profile**

**Kisses: **

**Aivlis Malfoy**


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